Association of White Blood Cell Count With Cardiorespiratory Fitness, Body Composition, and Blood Lipids in Female College Students

Abstract

Whether inflammary markers are associated with cardiorespiratory fitness, body composition, and blood lipids across gender and ethnic groups remain less clear. PURPOSE: We investigated the relations of white blood cell count (WBC) with cardiorespiratory fitness, body composition (percent body fat), and blood lipids (high-density lipoprotein, HDL-C, low-density lipoprotein, LDL-C, and total cholesterols, TC, and triglycerides, TG) in 82 Korean female college students aged 18 to 34 years. METHODS: We measured WBC count and blood lipids (HDL-C TC, and TG) using an enzymatic method. HDL-C was measured after dextran-magnesium precipitation, and LDL-C was calculated using the Friedewald equation. Percent body fat was analyzed by using the bioelectrical impedance (Biospace Co.), and cardiorespiratory fitness levels were indirectly assessed by using Harvard 5-minute step test. Pearson product-moment correlation was used to investigate the partial associations of WBC count with cardiorespiratory fitness, percent body fat, and blood lipids (HDL-C, TC, and TG) after adjustment for age, body mass index, cigarette smoking, alcohol intake, physical activity, and dietary habits. RESULTS: WBC count was inversely associated with cardiorespiratory fitness (r = −0.26, P = 0.02), and positively associated with percent body fat (r = 0.25, P = 0.03) after adjustment for multiple risk factors. However, there was a weak and non-significant association between WBC count with HDL-C (r = −0.04), LDL-C (r = −0.06), TC (r = −0.05), and TG (r = 0.07)], respectively. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that improvements in cardiorespiratory fitness may reduce white blood cell count, while being obese may increase white blood cell count in female Korean college students.